Competitive Dynamics and Business Strategy

Strategic analysts require a systematic approach to model and analyze their decisions, and firms often turn to game theory when thinking about competitive dynamics. This case gives students a game theory primer by putting them in the role of strategists working for Coca-Cola Enterprises who have been asked to determine how a planned bottling plant in Wisconsin will affect the company's profitability. Students learn the benefits of this approach as a strategic tool, and also explore recent advances in the behavioral aspects of game theory.

Stephan Meier is an Associate Professor at Columbia Business School. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Zurich, was previously a senior economist at the Center for Behavioral Economics and Decision-Making at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and taught courses on strategic interactions and economic policy at Harvard University and the University of Zurich. His research interest is in behavioral...

Ernesto Reuben is an Assistant Professor at the Columbia Business School. His research interests lie within behavioral and public economics. Broadly speaking, he investigates the role played by social norms and particular psychological traits on activities that are economically relevant for public policy and business strategy. One of his main interests is studying the microfoundations of prosocial and antisocial behavior. In particular, how intrinsic...